How Russian regions are introducing digital technologies: experience and achievements

---

How has digital transformation progressed in Russia’s regions over the past two years, and what results are already visible to residents? These questions were discussed by participants of the plenary session "Digital Transformation of Regions: Achievements and Challenges", which took place at the National Centre RUSSIA as part of the Forum "Digital Solutions 2025". Experts shared their experience in implementing major projects in the Moscow, Kaluga, Tyumen, Novosibirsk, and Chelyabinsk regions. Topics included the introduction of feedback platforms, the digitalisation of healthcare and the use of artificial intelligence.

"Regions largely determine the country’s development — they are the main drivers of progress. Most public services are delivered at the regional level, and, as we know, citizens’ satisfaction depends on the quality of local government by about 70 percent. Of course, this is a continuous process, and maintaining leadership is challenging: competition is high, and new interesting projects constantly emerge. Digital transformation is a kind of mission," said Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation Maksut Shadayev.

The Minister invited participants to discuss the achievements made in 2024 — 2025 in the field of digital transformation. According to Deputy Governor and Head of the Ministry of Digital Development of the Kaluga Region Dmitry Razumovsky, the region has achieved significant progress in the digitalisation of healthcare.

"The main result is that the region has come to understand that digital transformation is inevitable. This was the most challenging aspect — changing mindsets and encouraging everyone to think in terms of constant change. Today, each agency has an appointed head of digital transformation who understands their tasks," said Dmitry Razumovsky. "As for specific projects, we have significantly strengthened the healthcare sector in terms of digitalisation. This delivers a direct result that allows procedures during a doctor’s appointment to be simplified through the introduction of a clinical decision support system. We have also begun using artificial intelligence for image recognition, which has significantly improved the quality of work." 

Another project highlighted by the Head of the Ministry of Digital Development of the Kaluga Region was the feedback platform. Dmitry Razumovsky explained that all workflows had been completely redesigned, and the region has held leading positions in the use of the FPS for several years.

The Moscow region has selected three key projects that illustrate transformational change, said Minister of Public Administration, Information Technologies and Communications of the region Nadezhda Kurtyanik. The first is the transformation of employment centres. Their work has moved online and partly into multifunctional centres. As a result, 45 buildings were freed up and transferred for use as kindergartens and other social facilities. Residents of the region received a more convenient way to access employment services: most processes are now fully digital, and citizens visit MFCs only for identity verification.

"The second project is the transformation of the Construction Support Centre. Initially, the CSC functioned as a project office: the manager’s task was to support an investor from the idea stage until the start of construction, but many actions still had to be completed by the applicant. Last year, we made the process proactive: with the developer’s consent, the manager now completes the entire process on their behalf and actively supports them at every stage. Today, the average timeline for project delivery is eight months, whereas previously it could take up to three years," she said.

The third project, according to Nadezhda Kurtyanik, is the digitalisation of approvals for linear infrastructure facilities — the project "All Networks". Previously, the approval of topographic plans took critically long: a single project required approval from 12 different organisations, all in paper form. The region developed a digital platform, and now the minimum approval time for a topographic plan is one day, and the average is 14, she added.

"The key idea in the Tyumen region is ‘technology for life, technology for people’. All our projects are clearly focused on the practical benefits of technology. One of the key projects is the creation of infrastructure in all settlements. Over the past three to four years, we have connected socially significant facilities across the entire region. Thanks to high–quality infrastructure, residents of remote settlements can now use modern technologies and services on an equal footing. This applies, for example, to healthcare and telemedicine. Another focus area is artificial intelligence. Three years ago, we began holding the InfoTech forum in Tyumen, dedicated to AI. This platform changed the approach to using technologies: AI is no longer perceived as a toy, but as a tool that enhances efficiency and helps proactively inform residents," said Deputy Governor of the Tyumen Region Stanislav Loginov.

For several years, the Tyumen region has been dealing with floods, and according to the Deputy Governor, modern technologies have made it possible to notify residents of remote settlements in advance. In particular, before adverse weather conditions, residents received pre–filled applications for compensation, which required only the inclusion of bank details. He noted that this became possible thanks to effective data management and forecasting.

"Major transformation in the Chelyabinsk region has been achieved due to the feedback platform. It changes people’s lives and allows efficiency to be evaluated through real citizen enquiries. I personally start my day by analysing platform statistics to see where problems arise and where measures are needed. The second important topic is eliminating digital inequality. The Chelyabinsk region is a large region with diverse geography. Three years ago, more than 500 settlements had connectivity issues: about 150 settlements with fewer than 100 residents, and around 300 with between 100 and 1,000 residents. We are actively working on this: over these years, we have connected 148 settlements through the digital inequality elimination project. The regional subsidy supports telecom operators in providing both mobile internet and fixed–line connections, covering about 90 percent of households," said Deputy Governor of the Chelyabinsk Region Alexander Kozlov.

One of the areas of work has been postal services: around 100 rural post offices out of 360 have been renovated, improving service quality. In addition, digitalisation has extended to environmental monitoring: refuse truck drivers photograph waste collection sites before and after cleaning, and AI assesses their condition, enabling municipal heads to monitor order promptly. Online air quality monitoring services have also been introduced in two cities, allowing residents to track the situation in real time and increasing transparency in environmental programmes.

"The Novosibirsk region has always developed as a centre of science, education and culture. In recent years, it has also become a centre of IT technologies. Today, around 3,000 IT companies operate in the region, employing more than 30,000 specialists. This enables us to consider long–term prospects for the industry’s development. We are actively involved in eliminating digital inequality. We plan to complete this project in 2026, as internet access is now available in 98 percent of remote settlements. We are also actively introducing electronic medical records in the healthcare sector and developing the use of artificial intelligence in this field," said First Deputy Governor of the Novosibirsk Region Yuri Petukhov.

In 2025, the Novosibirsk region created conditions for parents and kindergartens to conclude contracts electronically — already 30 — 38 percent of contracts are processed online, he noted. AI–related projects are also developing. For example, a centre for fundamental AI research has been established at Novosibirsk State University, and in 2026 an AI laboratory for the development and replication of solutions is planned to open at the technopark.

The Information Technology Forum "Digital Solutions" is  held by the Ministry of Digital Development for the first time with the support of the Government of the Russian Federation. The event brings together leading representatives of the Russian IT industry and government authorities for dialogue across all areas of digital transformation. In total, more than 90 sessions are scheduled as part of the business programme, which will take place from 12 to 15 November, with more than 600 speakers participating.